Hydrometer and profile-recording machine.



A. MEROAU. HYDROMETER AND PROFILE RECORDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24,1906.

91 1,146. Patented Feb. 2, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

% 6? way A. MERGAU. HYDROMETER AND PROFILE RECORDING MACHINE.APPLICATION FILED PEB.24,1906.

91 1,146, Patented Feb. 2, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PIE 7 E x X 28 a A. MEROAU. HYDROMETER AND PROFILE RECORDING MACHINE.APPLICATION FILED IEB 24,1906.

91 1,146. Patented Feb. 2, 1909.

4 SHEETS-BHEET 3.

WI T NE 8858;

A. MERGAU. HYDROMETEB AND PROFILE RECORDING MACHINE.

APPLIGATION FILED PEB.24,1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Patented Feb. 2, 1909.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AGUSTIN MERCAU, OF BUENOS AYRES, ARGENTINA.

HYDROMETEB AND PROFILE-RECORDING MACHINE.

No. 911,146. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 2, 1909.

Application filed February 24, 1906. Serial No. 302,795.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, AGUSTIN MicnoAU, 1 civil engineer, citizen ofArgentina, residing at 343 B. Mitre street, Buenos Ayres, Argentina,have invented new and useful Improvements in Hydrometers andProfile-Recording Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a novel apparatus designed to measure and recordthe oscillations of the water level and to draw automatically theprofile of a river, stream, lake, or sea bed, &c.

In order that my invention will be more readily understood, I haveillustrated it with l drawings of which,

Figure 1, is a side view. Fig. 2, is a broken section showing meansemployed to fix the paper on the cylinder (24). Fig. 3, is a brokensection taken on line Ill of Figs. 1

counter-weight 12, which can be slid at will on said arm and fixed in adesired place by means of the screw 13. The object of thiscounter-weight arm' is to counterbalance the weight of the bar 5, on theshaft 2.

The arm 6, ends in a curved enlargement 14, provided with a slot withinwhich slides a pin 15, forming part of the pencil carrying block 16,which moves vertically through the action of the guides 17. ihe pin 15,is hollow, and the hole continues through the block 16, in order toadmit the pencil holder 25, (Fig. 4). The pencil holder is provided witha spring 18, in order that the pencil will be in constant contact withthe paper; and the block 16 carries a screw 19 which engages with thepencil holder to hold the same of a bracket 21, and at their upper endby means of a special piece 22, which at same time serves as a bearingto the upper ends of the shafts of the cylinders 23 and 24. In one ofthese guides 17 there is a small square frame 27, which can he slidvertically at will, and has a binding screw 28, in order to fix it at adesired place; this square frame carries a spring 29, which carries apencil holder 36, designed to give a continued horizontal referenceline, for the diagram, and at any desired height.

Regarding the upright 20, this carries on the side opposite to thatoccupied by the guides 17, two or more small bearers 32, across whichare placed springs 33, which when effecting pressure on the cylinder 23,prevent the latter from having irregular speed when it is moved by thepull effected by the cylinder 24, upon being rotated by the watchmechanism situated at 0. On the upright 20, and on the side of theguides there is a metal sheet 34, in order to give the paper a perfectlysmooth and hard surface on which the diagram will be automaticallydrawn; there is also provided another sheet 35, for the purpose ofaffording a suitable surface \for the automatic numerator. l

and 5. Fig. 4, is a view of the pencil holder (part in section). Fig. 5,is a plan view. Fig. 6, is a broken section taken on line cd, of Fig. 1.Fig. 7, is a view of the head of the arm (6) and shaft (2). Fig. 8, is aschematic view of the device used in obtaining the pro file of the bedof a river, stream, etc. Fig. 9, is a view of the clamp fixed to the endof the bar 5, for the purpose of holding and guiding the wire. Fig. 10is a perspective view of the invention.

The construction in its general sense con' sists of a table or platform1, upon which is adjusted a shaft 2, by means of the bearers 3; on thisshaft is placed a bushing 4, having a projection into which a bar 5, isinserted when desired; this bar is held in position in the projection bymeans of the peg 26. The arm 6, is also jointed to the shaft 2 and canmove freely in order that when themachine is not to be operated, thesaid arm will be at rest, and in order that the said arm may be moved byshaft 2 through the action of bar 5, said arm is provided withdiametrically placed holes 7 which, when placed in registering positionwith the hole 8 in shaft 2, allow arm 6 to be locked to shaft 2 by theinsertion of a pin 9 in said holes 7 and 8. On this shaft 2, there isanother arm 11, which can be locked to the shaft 2 by means of a peg 10,when the two diametrical holes are placed in registering position withtwo other such holes made in the shaft 2, which arm re- The cylinders 23and 24, may be of any suitable material, and are journaled at theirupper end in the piece 22; and at their lower end the shaft of thecylinder 24, is connected to the watch motion 0, and the other cylinder23, rests upon the post 36. The remains in its natural position when thepeg 1O sistance which these cylinders oppose to the does not cross theholes of said arm 11 and motion derived from the watch mechanism shaft2. This arm 11, has at one end a apparatus may be regulated by means ofthe in the block. The guides 17 are fixed at. their lower end to anupright 20, by means thumb screws 37. The cylinder 24, is the one whicheffects the traction andin order to suitably fix the end of the paperthereon, possesses a small groove '39, into which is inserted the end ofthe paper, which is then clamped by the bar 38, which fits exactly.

into said groove 39, and the latter bar is held in return by a hole madein the upper disk of the cylinder, and by a small hollowing made in thelower dish thereof by this means the :paper remains securely clamped.

In order that said cylinder 34, may be set in motion or stopped whendesired, there is provided a small step l0, which according to themovement given, will release or set into motion the watch mechanism. Theplatform 1, and with it all the apparatus is supported by the verticalshaft a1, and the latter is in return provided with bearings, (notshown) which at same time serve as a socket this device enables theplatform 1, to rotate freely describing a horizontal plane. The bearingsof the shaft 41, are in return fixed to a supporter, suitable for thepurpose to which the apparatus is designed, which sup- POI'tGIfWhGIl themachine is to be used as a profile recorder, may be the edge of a beat.

it the free'end of thearm or bar .5, may be fixed a floater, in case theapparatus be designed to indicate the oscillations of the waterlevehwl.6., when used as a hydrometer or mareograph; or else a weight of anyshape, which may be formed by simple coiled chain 73, in case theapparatus be designed to indicate the sinuosities of the bed of a river,canal, lake, etc, 6., when used as a profile recorder. Inthe first casethe apparatus is steadily fixed, and in the second it must be conductedby a boat or otherwise.

When the apparatus is recorder, and isto be operated in comparativelydeep water, for the bar 5 is substituted a shorter one (say from one totwo yards long) which bar is guided by a thin steel wire :69, formed bytwo pieces joined to eachother by a spring 71, which wire'has at itslower end a weight 73, already mentioned the other end extends to themetal drum 60, where the wire 69, can be coiled in by means of thehandle '61, directly connected to the shaft .62, of the drum, afterpassing from the loose pulley 65., and through clamps '79, whichmaintain said wire parallel to the bar 5. This clamp is adjusted to theend of the bar 5, and has a movable part provided with an aperture,which part may be easily slid and has a screw 74, for the purpose offixing said movable part in a suitable place.

When the handle 61, is made to move conveniently, the wire may be giventhe length desired and then coiled. A jackscrew -64, tacilitates thisoperation. .As it is convenient that the wire 69, be very thin, (sayfrom will give or expand used as a profile 0.7 to 1 mm. diameter), andthe weight there of comparatively heavy, more or less 200 lbs. and whilethis weight is less than the breaking weight, there is always a dangerof this occurring through any other accidental cause. In order toprevent this, a spring 71 has been provided in its length, which acertain distance, say two inches for instance, for a strain of 160lbs.,' on the other hand, extending also from the weight, there is asteel cable 72, called security cable, attached by its other end to thebearing shaft of the apparatus, said steel cable being approximately twoinches longer than the wire and spring "when unstretched, so that whenthe wire tension tends to exceed 160 lbs, (beyond the tension) it issupported *by the safety cable preventing thereby the breaking of thewire. The safety cable may be provided of the strength desired.

As has been stated, the platform 1, may rotate freely by means of thevertical shaft 41; the object of this device is to prevent the driftingof the boat, through the action of the water: current.

The curved guide 14, will cause the distancetraveled by the pencil 25,to be roportional to the sines of the angles c'lescri'oed by the bars,or to thesi-nuosities of the bed, as herein'before referred to. Thedefinition of the'curving 14, cannot be more completely and preciselyexplained than is done by the following equation, which I give in polarcoordinates: (a being the anomaly; p the raidus vector; 1 the distanceof the rotation center of the guide to the extremity thereof and pc themaximum angle which is drawn in the curve): viz: p:r cos a-1 cos Thevertical scale of the diagramobtained, depends upon the relation betweenthe lengthof the bar 5, or wire substituting san1e, as has been stated,and the distance of the rotation center of the guide, to the extremitythereof.

As will be seen, this specially curved piece is completely general, andthereforeappliable to .all recording apparatus, which require similartransformation, and it will also be seen that talring instead of theangle, the complement thereof: the co-sine of the variable angle, may beequally recorded.

To set the apparatus into operation, or in readiness therefor, careshould be taken that the cylinder 23, be provided with paper, and thatthe latter will pass over the plate 34, of the upright 20, that thewatch mechanism be sutficiently wound, that the whole apparatus be on aneven level, and that the arms 6 and 11, be jointly secured to the shaft2, by means of the pegs 9 and 10. Under these circumstances, the machinewill be able to worlr, and with what has been set forth, the operationswill be readily under stood. When "the bar 5 be provided with itsangular motion, said motion will also be transmitted to the arm 6, andthe pencil holder 16, carrying the pencil, will also have its motiontransformed into rectilineal, alternative and vertical, so that thepencil will draw a continued line, representing the profile of the bedof a river, lake or the like, or the oscillations of the water level, asthe case may be. The vertical scale of the diagram thus obtained, willdepend upon the relation between the length of the bar 5, and distanceto b, the horizontal scale will de pend upon the speed at which thepaper band slides, when the apparatus is used as hydrometer ormareograph, and when used as profile recorder, the horizontal scale willalso depend upon the rotation speed of the paper and of the boat, but inthis case it must be obtained directly by calculating simultaneouslyandfrom time to time the position of the boat and of the pencil on thediagram, as is usually done in all hydrometrical operations known. I mayfinally add, that when the apparatus is not in use, the pegs 9 and 10,should be withdrawn, in order to leave the arms 6 and 11, in a restingposition; the table or platform may besides be provided with a compass,levelers, etc.

Having now fully described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and the manner in which it is to be performed, what I claimis 1. An apparatus for measuring and re cording the oscillations of thewater level and to draw automatically the profile of the bed of a riveror the like comprising a base,

a horizontal shaft thereon, a downwardly inclined bar having its upperend adjustably secured to said shaft, means connected to the I free endof the bar for imparting movement thereto, said means contacting withthe surface to be measured, an adjustable counter-weight connected tothe horizontal shaft for counterbalancing the said bar, an upwardlyinclined bar 6 having its lower end adjustably connected to the shaftand having an enlargement at its upper end, said enlargement having acurved slot therein, an upright having slides thereon, a blockvertically movable between said slides, a pencil holder carried by saidblocl: and having a part engaging with the curved slot and means forpassing a sheet of paper horizontally in proximity to the pencil holder.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising a recording deviceincluding an oscillating arm, a wire connected to said arm and formed oftwo pieces, a spiral spring joining the two together, a weight connectedto the lower end of the wire, and a safety cable connected to the weightand having a length equal to that of the wire plus the lengthcorresponding to the greatest expansion of the spring.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

AGUSTIN MER- CAU.

lVitnesses:

JUAN AU'r CARVAL, I. E. MILLER.

